November 30, 2012

Shai Parnes: NoCal tour ‘a great learning experience’

OVI's Shai Parnes explains to Santa Clara University students his grassroots work on the ground in Israel.

New York,
November 21, 2012 – The last International Engagement Program
(IEP) tour of the fall semester is in the books, and OneVoice Israel youth
leader Shai Parnes visited university campuses and community organizations around
Northern California from November 12-16. Shai was kind enough to talk to
OneVoice about his time on tour.

OneVoice: Why did you come on tour to
the U.S.?

Shai: I
came to the United States through the International Engagement Program because
I believe that the U.S. – and the entire international community – plays
an important role in this conflict and has the capacity to influence it greatly.
I believe that if the American people would press their leadership and elected
officials in Washington to help us pressure our leaders to work on the
two-state solution there is a better chance that we can
in live in peace.

OneVoice: Did you face any challenges
that came up during the tour that you weren't expecting?

Shai: Actually, not really. There were some tough, but
fair questions, and audiences were very polite and respectful of each other.
They could have yelled and screamed at us and each other because they are so
passionate about what they believe, but they didn’t. People see us [Obada and I]
representing our respective communities, therefore they have the opportunity to
ask us questions and see the two-state solution before their eyes.

OneVoice: Do you
believe your audiences left their events feeling engaged and motivated? How did
they show this?

Shai: I was
inspired by many members of our audiences throughout the tour. People came up
after and wanted to know more about the Movement and I can see that some
gradually saw that we at OneVoice are not picking sides in this conflict. Many
people signed the petition; others
said they would talk to student associations and organizations to see if they
can do more to help our cause on their campuses. And actually, one student from
a university not on our tour found out about it and decided to join us in Santa
Cruz. All in all I believe they took a lot away from our tour.

OneVoice: How can
you apply your experience on this tour to your work on the ground in Israel?

Shai: These
days, people are very concerned with what is going on in Israel right now: the
Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Our
audiences remained respectful and they actually listened. I learned the most
from my Palestinian colleague, Obada, because now I can answer with more
certainty questions that Israelis ask me about ordinary Palestinians and about their
needs and desires. It was a great learning experience.